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The InformationWeek November 2007 Archive « October 2007 | Main | December 2007 » |
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Join Us Tuesday For GridTalk With Linden Lab VP Joe Miller
Joe Miller, Linden Lab vice president, platform and technology development, will be our special guest for GridTalk, where we'll talk with him about Windlight, new Second Life technology that makes the world more beautiful and realistic.
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CIO Effectiveness: Here's A Hint -- Know Your Manager
Now for another sneak peek at a small slice of our forthcoming CIO Effectiveness Survey 2007: Almost everyone agrees the CIO should report to the CEO. Unfortunately, the reality is quite different.
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Last CIO Standing: Joke Contest
As I've said several times, I'm committed to passing along every CIO joke -- both by and about CIOs -- that I hear. Unfortunately, I don't have a joke this time. But I do have a little bit of insight that concerns a certain top technology executive's sense of humor -- or lack thereof.
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The Incompleteness Theory Of Open Source, Continued
After my last post about how "failed" open-source projects aren't really failures at all, a colleague of mine provided me with more perspectives on that situation. The very way open source works, he claimed, is like an amortization of risk against failure in software development.
Continue reading "The Incompleteness Theory Of Open Source, Continued..."
Google's Data Center Strategy Revealed . . . At The Rotary Club
For months, I've been trying to get Google to discuss its data center strategy. My approach was flawed. I could have gotten more information at a Rotary Club luncheon this week in Hickory, N.C.
Continue reading "Google's Data Center Strategy Revealed . . . At The Rotary Club..."
BlackBerry 9000 Details And Image Leaked
Details and specs of the much-anticipated, touch screen iPhone killer, the BlackBerry 9000, have supposedly been leaked. Let's take a look.
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Google Wants It All When It Comes To Wireless
Google put months of speculation to rest today by officially announcing that it will bid in the FCC 700 MHz spectrum auction come January. It might eventually have its own mobile platform, offer all kinds of mobile services and have spectrum, but can Google feasibly run its own wireless network?
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Could Linux Help Bring Both Koreas Together?
People in South Korea speak of folks in North Korea more as lost brothers than bitter enemies. Over the years the two have made various rapprochements, but now it looks like North and South are teaming up on a whole new kind of joint project: a Korean-language Linux distribution.
Continue reading "Could Linux Help Bring Both Koreas Together?..."
Motorola's CEO Calls It Quits
Some would say it is about time. After a troubling year for its handset business and massive shareholder pressure, Motorola's CEO Ed Zander has agreed to vacate his chair at the end of the table. He'll hand it over to Motorola chief operating officer Greg Brown. The real question is, will this change of leadership be what Motorola needs to turn things around?
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Zumobi Talks Widgets And Mobile 2.0
A few weeks ago I sat down to discuss Mobile 2.0 with handset giant Nokia at Mobile Internet World. This time I wanted to deepen the conversation and cover mobile widgets with Beth Goza, senior marketing manager at startup Zumobi. Guess what, widgets are key to bringing Web 2.0 to the third screen.
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Police Claim Exploding Mobile Phone Did Not Kill South Korea Man
Yesterday the blogosphere exploded with news that an exploding cell phone may have killed a man in South Korea. Now police claim the combustible handset did not play a role in the man's demise. What gives?
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Shop Google, Earn Airline Miles
Google is taking a page from the credit card companies by incorporating an airline miles reward program as part of Google Checkout this month.
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AMD Opens Bangalore R&D Center
When you get CEO Hector Ruiz to fly into India to open up a new engineering facility, you know AMD is getting serious about 45nm quad-core chips.
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Microsoft Rumored To Release A Windows Mobile Update
Although there aren't many details currently available, word on the street is that Microsoft has previewed an update to its smartphone operating system, Windows Mobile 6, to the lucky few attending the annual Mobius conference.
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What Goodies Do You Offer To Techies?
During the dot-com boom, employers rolled out the red carpet and waved fat checks at tech talent. Today's carrots aren't 20% raises and signing bonuses, but rather 20%-off coupons on car rentals. But could job-perk programs be making a comeback?
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Asus Makes Good On Open-Sourcing Eee's Code
The other day I posted about how Asus had apparently not released all of the source code for its Linux-based Eee PC, and I branded it a goof that would be rectified soon. Looks like that was indeed the case: Asus has fixed its mistake.
Continue reading "Asus Makes Good On Open-Sourcing Eee's Code..."
YouTube Comes Of Age In Republican Debate
Finally, an important and intellectual-property-legal application for the video clips from YouTube. Some 30 short videos submitted by the public were used as the questions in Wednesday evening's CNN debate among the Republican presidential candidates. Sure, this isn't the first debate, YouTube or otherwise, but last night the gloves really came off.
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California Plan To Outsource E-Mail Service Raises Privacy Questions
On Wednesday, I broke the news that California is weighing a plan to hand off the hosting of e-mails--to, from, and between state workers--to either Google or Microsoft. Is everybody comfortable with that?
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Will Open Networks Force Apple To Unlock The iPhone?
Almost milliseconds after Verizon Wireless said it will open its networks to outside devices starting next year, I was swarmed with e-mails asking me if the iPhone would soon be able to run on Verizon's network. At first, I said no. EDGE phones don't run on CDMA networks. Then, I thought through the question again.
Continue reading "Will Open Networks Force Apple To Unlock The iPhone?..."
Eye-Fi Points To The Future Of Web-Based Products
The Eye-Fi Wireless SD card for digital cameras reduces a Wi-Fi card to fit on an SD flash storage card, with room left over for 2 Gbytes of storage. But amazing as that is, the most interesting thing about Eye-Fi is the way it works the network.
Continue reading "Eye-Fi Points To The Future Of Web-Based Products..."
AT&T CEO Says 3G iPhone Will Be Available Next Year
The 3G iPhone has been naught but a rumor until AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson opened his mouth recently and spilled the beans. Oh, how Steve Jobs must be fuming right now. All Stephenson would commit to is "next year", but that's enough for many.
Continue reading "AT&T CEO Says 3G iPhone Will Be Available Next Year..."
Verizon Wireless Picks LTE With Vodafone For 4G Technology
Verizon Wireless officially dropped another bomb this week. Though the move was widely speculated about several months ago after a Vodafone executive made some comments about the two companies' plans, Verizon made it official this morning. CDMA and its 4G derivative UWB are out. Long Term Evolution is in. Dose this mean CDMA is dead?
Continue reading "Verizon Wireless Picks LTE With Vodafone For 4G Technology..."
BI Startup Targets Microsoft, Siebel CRM
Semantra, a four-year-old company in Dallas, has developed what sounds like the Holy Grail of the database technologies: A business intelligence-like search tool that lets non-technical users make ad hoc queries in plain English. It's going after Microsoft and Siebel CRM customers first.
Continue reading "BI Startup Targets Microsoft, Siebel CRM..."
On Clean Energy, Google Jumps The Shark
As a citizen of Planet Earth, I'm glad to know that Google, the country's sixth-largest corporation in terms of market cap, is planning to invest hundreds of millions to fight global warming. If I were a shareholder (which I'm not), I wouldn't be so thrilled.
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Will The Verizon Decision Translate To Wireless Growth In 2008?
2007 is quickly winding down and its time to start looking ahead to the new year. So far, location-based services and GPS look to be the big trends for 2008. To get a broader perspective, I sat down with noted technologist and trend prognosticator Mark Anderson of The Strategic News Service to get a sneak peak at what the new year promises for wireless.
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Why Verizon Wireless Opened Its Network
A few years ago, I attended an analyst meeting at Verizon Wireless. One of the analysts asked about the future of adult content in mobile data services. There was a hush over the room -- you could hear a pin drop. Then CEO Dennis Strigl hesitated and said, "That will never happen while I'm CEO. It's our network and we plan to supervise everything that runs on it that we feel is in the best interest of our subscribers." Why did Verizon Wireless change course?
Continue reading "Why Verizon Wireless Opened Its Network..."
Telecommuting: A Cause Celebre For CIOs?
It's a much-admired perk, according to a new survey. But how favorably do CIOs look on stay-at-home workers -- both those who toil in IT, and the rest of the company?
Continue reading "Telecommuting: A Cause Celebre For CIOs?..."
Super 3G In The Hands Of 24 Million People Predicted By 2012
A new report by Juniper Research forecasts that by 2012, nearly 24 million subscribers worldwide will be using services based on a cellular technology called Long Term Evolution, or LTE, which is often referred to as "super 3G." That means in the next couple of years wireless carriers and mobile device makers will have to step up their game, especially in the United States.
Continue reading "Super 3G In The Hands Of 24 Million People Predicted By 2012..."
Wind-Powered Google Data Centers? One Already Exists
Google's new initiative to develop renewable energy sources conjures up images of data centers powered by water, wind, and the sun. No need to stretch your imagination; Google's already got them.
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The So-Called 'Incompleteness' Theory Of Open Source
Sourceforge.net, the premier repository for open-source software, has more than 160,000 projects registered. Many of them will never reach the 1.0 revision marker. But is that really a bad thing?
Continue reading "The So-Called 'Incompleteness' Theory Of Open Source..."
Top 5 Things Microsoft Must Fix In Windows Vista In 2008
With Vista's first service pack due for wide release early next year, Microsoft is intent on addressing the many things which need to be fixed in its still-young operating system. The question is, are they going to fix the right things? I think not, since the problems this time 'round aren't bugs so much as performance. Read on for my list of five must-have Vista corrections.
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South Korean Man Killed By Exploding Mobile Phone
Sure, we've all heard about mobile phones that explode, but this time the exploding phone actually killed someone. Are mobile phones becoming less safe?
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Google Talks Up Enhanced Mobile Google Maps And Location Services
As if we needed another sign that location will be the hot topic for 2008, Google today announced a significant upgrade to its Google Maps for mobile application called My Location. In order to get a better handle on the upgrade, I sat down with Steve Lee, product manager, Google Maps for mobile, to discuss Google's plans for location applications.
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Google Adds Locator Feature To Mobile Maps Application
Google made a new beta version of its Mobile Maps application available to certain smartphones today. The biggest improvement of the application comes with its My Location feature, which uses cell tower information--and not on-board GPS--to determine user location. Watch our demo here.
Continue reading "Google Adds Locator Feature To Mobile Maps Application..."
Lenders Plan Database To Help With Foreclosure Mess, But Will Things Really Change?
Mortgage lenders on Tuesday committed to a doozy of an IT project: they'll build a database on every foreclosed property in the United States to help cities untangle the foreclosure mess. Good. The guilty party is finally starting to show some responsibility for the subprime mortgage crisis.
Continue reading "Lenders Plan Database To Help With Foreclosure Mess, But Will Things Really Change?..."
Motorola Loses The Number Two Spot To Samsung, Has Clearly Lost Its Mojo
More bad news for Motorola. Plagued by a tough year all around, Motorola slipped from the world's second-largest supplier of mobile phones to the third, according to third quarter figures released yesterday. In comparison, Nokia increased its lead and sold nearly three times as many devices as Motorola. Can Moto turn it around and get its mojo back?
Continue reading "Motorola Loses The Number Two Spot To Samsung, Has Clearly Lost Its Mojo..."
Why Microsoft Rattles The Patent Saber
It must be maddening to believe you command developer loyalties and lead legions worldwide, then watch developers flock to the Linux kernel. Maddening, that is, if you're Microsoft. Why does Microsoft say its patents cover Linux, while at the same time reaching out to other open source code projects? It's the Linux kernel development process.
Continue reading "Why Microsoft Rattles The Patent Saber..."
Zune Vs. iPod: Which Music Player Do You Want For Xmas?
There's lots of talk about Microsoft's slimmed-down, second-generation Zune. I'm supposed to get my review unit soon, and I'm anxious to take a look. I'm sure it's much improved over the 1.0 design, which had all the style of a 1960 Dodge Polara. However, if you ask people which music player they want for the holidays, and you frame the question the way I did in the headline, the answer is pretty obvious.
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University To Make Students Carry GPS Mobile Phones
For those of you who thought I was jumping the gun with location and GPS, check this out: Montclair State University will require its students to buy and carry a special cell phone equipped with GPS. Is this a sign of things to come?
Continue reading "University To Make Students Carry GPS Mobile Phones..."
Verizon's Open Network: What's The Catch?
With all the buzz about Verizon promising to open its wireless network to third-party devices in 2008, I find myself being strongly skeptical. This could turn out to be an open network in nothing but name.
Continue reading "Verizon's Open Network: What's The Catch?..."
Is Verizon's Announcement Really The End Of Closed Wireless Networks?
Just how open will Verizon Wireless' open network be next year? Will Verizon offer true open network access? Or will the carrier use tiered pricing and other tactics to try to keep unapproved applications and devices off its network?
Continue reading "Is Verizon's Announcement Really The End Of Closed Wireless Networks?..."
Feeling Grumpy About Your Job?
Who do you think likes his or her job better, you or your boss? A few recent surveys hint that IT worker-bees are happier with their jobs than the queen-bee is with hers. But is the company king-pin the unhappiest of all?
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Real Zune Now
New models of Microsoft's Zune media player prove that Microsoft is still Microsoft: It's one of the best companies in the world at doing the difficult job of learning from its mistakes.
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Industry Begins To Weigh In On Verizon's Open Handset Policy
Microsoft is one of the first companies to formally announce that it supports Verizon's new "any apps, any device" idea. So far other companies have remained mum on the subject. You have to wonder what members of the Open Handset Alliance think.
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Why Linus Isn't "Competing"
The recent interview with Linus Torvalds cemented a number of things I've believed about Linux for a while now. Linux isn't an OS, or even a kernel: it's an embodiment of a design philosophy. One aspect of that philosophy could be described as "ignore the competition."
Continue reading "Why Linus Isn't "Competing"..."
Now That Verizon Wireless Is Opening Its Network, What's Next?
It looks like Google is about to get everything it wants. The king of closed wireless networks, Verizon Wireless, this morning said it will open its networks to "wireless devices, software and applications not offered by the carrier." Now what's next?
Continue reading "Now That Verizon Wireless Is Opening Its Network, What's Next?..."
Verizon Wireless's Walled Garden Comes Tumbling Down
Holy cell towers, Batman! In a stunning announcement, Verizon Wireless has promised that customers will be able to use "any app, any device" on its network starting next year. Is this the end of the walled garden as we know it?
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Converting A Few Measly Page Views Into Real Business
Yodle, a specialist in placing online ads for small, local companies, has secured $12 million in second round venture funding. Its clients are the small-fries of Web commerce, but large enterprises could learn a few things from them.
Continue reading "Converting A Few Measly Page Views Into Real Business..."
Macworld May Disappoint iPhone Phreaks
The January classic will be bigger than ever and more comprehensive than in years past. But unless Apple makes an announcement, don't expect to get insider scoop on how to hack an iPhone at Macworld 2008.
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Mozilla Fixes Memory And CPU Problems In Firefox 3 Beta 1
Mozilla.org says it fixed a problem with Firefox 3 Beta 1 that caused it to spike CPU usage and eat hundreds of megabytes of RAM. The fix involved changing the configuration of a server that Firefox communicates with, so you don't have to download a new version to take advantage of it.
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Linux Kernel Maintainers: Accountable To All, Beholden To None?
The Linux kernel is surrounded by hundreds of interested parties. How is it that none of them gains a commanding influence over the kernel's development priorities? HP, IBM, Oracle. Google, eBay and Intel each has a primary stake in Linux and employs kernel developers. Does this mean money talks when it comes to Linux? If not, why not?
Continue reading "Linux Kernel Maintainers: Accountable To All, Beholden To None? ..."
Will The iPhone Ever Be Ready For The Enterprise?
My colleague Sean Ginevan over at Network Computing asks if the iPhone will ever be ready for the enterprise IT market. This is shaping up as the never-ending question of 2007.
Continue reading "Will The iPhone Ever Be Ready For The Enterprise?..."
Credit For Amazon's Ugly Kindle Should Go To E-Ink Maker
Buried amid all the bows Jeff Bezos is taking for Amazon's Kindle is some note of where the real credit for the electronic-book reader should go. That would be to E Ink Corp. of Cambridge, Mass., which developed the technology behind both Kindle and its far more elegant looking cousin, the Sony Reader.
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Do You Know Who Your Next CIO Will Be?
Succession planning is an important part of management strategy. Unfortunately, it's a practice more breached than honored -- especially when it comes to CIOs.
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Why Doesn't Google Android Support SIP?
While Google's Android OS promises to break open the mobile market, some insiders are wondering why it has no support for SIP or IMS. How revolutionary can Android be if it does not include SIP?
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Rumor Mill: T-Mobile Might Be Ready To Launch Its 3G Network
This one has been a long time coming. T-Mobile is the only one of the four major U.S. carriers that doesn't offer 3G data services. It bought 3G spectrum back in 2006, but has yet to get any portions of its planned 3G network up and running. Looks like that might be about to change.
Continue reading "Rumor Mill: T-Mobile Might Be Ready To Launch Its 3G Network..."
Did Asus Drop The Ball With The Eee PC's Open Source?
One of the provisions of using open-source code is that you have to honor the license the code was provided under, which usually means supplying the source on demand. From what other people have observed, Asus may not have properly fulfilled its obligations under the GPL to release all the source code used to build the Eee PC's proprietary hardware drivers. Or maybe someone just goofed.
Continue reading "Did Asus Drop The Ball With The Eee PC's Open Source?..."
Blyk MVNO Claims 43 Percent Click-Through On Its Mobile-For-Ads Service
The U.K.-based mobile virtual network operator is saying that in its first eight weeks of operation it just might have a valid business model after all. The MVNO offers free mobile service to 16-24 year olds. In exchange for free minutes and text-message allowances, users have to view ads on their phones. So far, up to 43 percent are actually clicking on the ads for more information.
Continue reading "Blyk MVNO Claims 43 Percent Click-Through On Its Mobile-For-Ads Service..."
A Mother Lode Of Business Code
Forget IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle. How much software do you think businesses have developed for internal use? Here's one expert's guesstimate.
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British iPhone Users Complain Of Serious Reception Problems
British iPhone buyers are in an online uproar over reception problems they're experiencing on the network of O2, Apple's exclusive service provider in England. (No bars for iPhone Brits?)
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Mobile Tech, From Drug Tests To Train Tracks
A pro cycling team gave riders BlackBerrys so it can summon them anytime for unannounced drug tests. Now, testing employees for elevated testosterone on three hours notice might not be a core competency for your company. But it gets to a challenge: do you have a problem that mobile technology lets you look at in a new way?
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The Promise Of Mobile GPS And Location
If 2007 was the year of smartphones, then 2008 promises to be the year of mobile location. Consumers and business users want GPS and other location services on their smartphones. But what does 2008 really hold in store?
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Tomorrow's CIO: A Woman
Women possess many of the attributes necessary for the emerging role of the CIO, such as skills in communication, collaboration, and negotiation, says Susan Mersereau, senior VP and CIO at Weyerhaeuser Co.: "I think they're wired to move into this career."
Continue reading "Tomorrow's CIO: A Woman..."
Reports Of E-Mail's Death Are Exaggerated
It's safe to say that once the online magazine Slate writes about a tech trend, that trend is either over or rapidly becoming passé. So it is with last week's story, "The Death of Email." The notion that e-mail, shoved aside by more youthful and immediate forms of communicating such as IM, text messaging, and Twitter, is going the way of the fax machine has been around for some time.
Continue reading "Reports Of E-Mail's Death Are Exaggerated..."
Running IE On Linux -- And Running Windows XP For Free (Sort Of)
Yes, I know the headline sounds like the fodder for a joke: "Run IE on Linux? Why would you want to?" But there are circumstances where it's unavoidable -- compatibility testing, or accessing IE-only sites without dual-booting -- and in the last few weeks I've come across a couple of interesting approaches to this issue.
Continue reading "Running IE On Linux -- And Running Windows XP For Free (Sort Of)..."
Why Does Jaron Lanier Hate Google?
Spurred into opining by the television writers strike, virtual-reality guru Jaron Lanier has reversed his long-standing "piracy is good" position. Writing on the Op-Ed page of The New York Times, he's lamenting the fact that content creators aren't reaping their fair share of the Web's riches, and that this comes at the expense of big aggregators like Google.
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Gmail As Designed By Microsoft
Since Thanksgiving is just around the corner, it's time for some holiday chestnuts. Here's one: What if Microsoft, and not Google, had designed Gmail? How would the application be different? Let's take a look.
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And The Best Selling Mobile Phone Of The Third Quarter Was...
...Not the iPhone. It was the Motorola Razr V3. Not the new version of the Razr, mind you, but the ancient version of the Razr that used to be a trendsetter. My question is, should it really count as a "sale" when people are not actually paying for the phone?
Continue reading "And The Best Selling Mobile Phone Of The Third Quarter Was......"
Study Links Wi-Fi Exposure To Autism
Another day, another study. This one comes from the Australasian Journal of Clinical Environmental Medicine and says that the signals spewing from the Wi-Fi router in your office can trap certain metals within brain cells and increase the chances your kids will develop autism.
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Hanging Up On Mobile AV
It's good to see security vendors getting in front of a problem. But when it comes to mobile malware, Symantec and McAfee are getting ahead of themselves.
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SAP Hopes To See TomorrowNow Become YesterdayThen
So the other shoe drops. Four months after admitting one of its subsidiaries downloaded Oracle documents it didn't have legal rights to, SAP is doing everything it can to yank out and destroy that thorn in it's paw known as TomorrowNow.
Continue reading "SAP Hopes To See TomorrowNow Become YesterdayThen..."
Bigger Screens, Lighter Notebooks? It's Not A Paradox
Fujitsu is releasing a new laptop today that breaks one of the rules of notebook physics -- it has a bigger screen than a similar predecessor model, but it's lighter. How does that work? The reason is the change in screen technology from fluorescent-backlit to LED-backlit.
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So, Apple Is Not Spying On iPhone Users After All
Yesterday the blogosphere erupted when evidence surfaced that Apple was potentially spying on iPhone users. Now other bloggers are claiming that Apple is not spying on its users. So which is it?
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Share The Love: IT Staff Feel Appreciated
Contrary to stereotyped perceptions (and Saturday Night Live skits), IT staff members aren't necessarily targets of verbal abuse, they do get positive feedback from users, and they aren't constantly surfing the Web looking for new jobs. As for CIOs ... insufficient data.
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Video: Vintage Apple Lisa Commercial Stars Kevin Costner
This commercial stars the Dances With Wolves actor as a hip executive who bicycles to the office with his dog and uses a Lisa when he gets there.
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T-Mobile Dumps Customers Who Roam Too Much
So much for winning all those shiny customer service awards. In a bad customer service moment that smacks of something Sprint did recently, T-Mobile decided to kick 600 customers to the curb. Their offense? Roaming in areas without T-Mobile network coverage too often.
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Amazon's Kindle May Not Be About Books Alone
The more I read about Amazon's Kindle device, the more I realize Amazon's managed to sell one thing and call it another. It's not an "electronic book" -- it's a portable vending machine for syndicated content and EVDO access. And if it works, it might hint at a new way to sell high-speed wireless access to the Internet as a whole, albeit in a heavily closed-ended way.
Continue reading "Amazon's Kindle May Not Be About Books Alone..."
T-Mobile Raked Over Coals For Selling iPhone With Two-Year Contracts
Vodafone is going on the offensive against competitor T-Mobile in Germany. It filed an injunction against T-Mobile claiming that the iPhone's sales terms, which require a two-year contract with T-Mobile, are a no-no. The German court sided with Vodafone and is now forcing T-Mobile to change its iPhone sales practices.
Continue reading "T-Mobile Raked Over Coals For Selling iPhone With Two-Year Contracts..."
Faster AMD Phenom Quad-Cores Coming In Early 2008
If your interest in AMD's first desktop quad-core processors was piqued by Monday's announcement of the Phenom X4 9500 and 9600, then you'll like what the scrappy semiconductor maker has up its sleeve for release early next year. Three new processors are on the way, most notably a 3.0-GHz Phenom due in the second quarter of 2008.
Continue reading "Faster AMD Phenom Quad-Cores Coming In Early 2008..."
Tomorrow's CIO
In writing my feature story about "The Evolving CIO," I interviewed M.S. Krishnan, professor of business information technology at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan. Here are some notes from that conversation on how CIOs can step up to the next level: of their careers, and of what their organizations are increasingly expecting of them.
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Google For IT?
These days, if people have a question they turn to Google for an answer. Startup Paglo wants to become Google for IT administrators.
Continue reading "Google For IT?..."
Excessively Nervous Apple Worries About Threat From Its Own Boot Camp
Apple last week delivered a far-fetched warning to investors that Boot Camp on Macs could backfire, and cause developers to write fewer Mac apps. That's just plain wrong.Boot Camp is an incentive for Windows users to switch to the Mac, which will lead to more demand for applications and therefore more -- not less -- Mac software.
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Meet The 10 Ugliest Smartphones. Ever.
Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but ugly is ugly no matter how you look at it. If you've ever been so unfortunate as to lay eyeballs on any of these devices, you probably came away blinded. Here are ten smartphones that should never have made it off the paper they were sketched on.
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My Own Linux Distro: The Choices
After my first post about creating my own Linux distribution as a learning project, I received a lot of extremely positive letters from readers, many of whom had suggestions about particular distributions to use as the core for the project. Here's some of what they had to say.
Continue reading "My Own Linux Distro: The Choices..."
E-Mail Archiving: 'No CFO Wants To Go To Jail'
E-mail archiving and electronic discovery are no longer a best practice for a select few companies. IT departments need to get their e-mail records in order.
Continue reading "E-Mail Archiving: 'No CFO Wants To Go To Jail'..."
Is Apple Spying On iPhone Users?
Just when you thought the security risks of the iPhone couldn't get any worse, we discover this. According to one member of the Hackint0sh forum, Apple is using the iPhone to spy on its users.
Continue reading "Is Apple Spying On iPhone Users?..."
Microsoft's Embedded Linux Deal With Kyocera May Not Be About Embedded Linux
After reading about Microsoft cutting a deal with Kyocera to cross-license some of its patents in certain embedded Linux devices, I wondered if this really had anything to do with Linux at all. Many of the posts I've read on the subject have taken that to be the case, but is that true?
Continue reading "Microsoft's Embedded Linux Deal With Kyocera May Not Be About Embedded Linux..."
Nokia Explains Web 2.0 With Video
For those of you still don't think that Nokia is gunning for Google's throne as the king of Web 2.0, take a look at this. Why is Nokia spending time trying to define Web 2.0?
Continue reading "Nokia Explains Web 2.0 With Video..."
iPhone Is A Bigger Security Risk Than You Think
Just when it looked like the iPhone might make headway with the business market, a security expert shows just how vulnerable the iPhone really is to hackers.
Continue reading "iPhone Is A Bigger Security Risk Than You Think..."
Is AT&T About To Join The Google Android Alliance?
According to this brief report, AT&T is in talks with Google to join the Open Handset Alliance. Holy handset, Batman, this could be big.
Continue reading "Is AT&T About To Join The Google Android Alliance?..."
5 Reasons TV Writers Strike Won't Benefit Web
With the TV writers strike forcing dozens of sitcoms and dramas -- not to mention Letterman and Leno -- into reruns, there's talk that viewers will permanently abandon prime time even after the walkout is settled. At the same time, the writers strike is seen as a big opportunity for Web content creators to prove that their medium has really arrived. But has it?
Continue reading "5 Reasons TV Writers Strike Won't Benefit Web..."
T-Mobile Yanks Motorola Handset From Shelves
Due to the rising tide of customer complaints, T-Mobile has halted sales of the troubled Motorola Sidekick Slide. T-Mobile issued a statement late yesterday explaining how the customer-service-friendly carrier is trying to make amends.
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Google's Wireless Bid Plan Means It's Phone Serious
The chatter that Google may indeed be planning to bid for wireless spectrum space gives additional impetus to the expectation that there will indeed be a bunch of Google phones on the market in 2008. Yes, I know Google itself will not manufacture a phone. However, as I explained in my recent article, Inside The Gphone, the search-engine giant's Android partners are already putting a cutting-edge handset together.
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Pssst, Wanna 57 Percent Return? OLPC
If you're interested in a sure thing in a computer technology investment I've got a hot tip for you -- a guaranteed 57% return. Not only that, you get a cool laptop and a tax break just like you were buddies with George Bush (if that idea appeals to you). Your cost? $423.95 and a postage stamp. Here's how it works. (I'll explain the stamp later.)
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Do You Monitor Your Employees?
A new system from AT&T introduces the era of low-cost Big Brother surveillance. Is this something CIOs should be interested in -- or afraid of?
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Is Google Planning An Android Platform For Wireless Spectrum?
According to a report in today's Wall Street Journal, Google looks like it's about to become a wireless service provider. Is this latest Google rumor just a repeat of the gPhone?
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Amazon Planning E-Book Debacle
Amazon is apparently planning to release a $399 e-book reading device called Kindle on Monday. I'd have thought that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos would know better since he was around at the turn of the century, during the first e-book flop.
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Microsoft and Open Source ... Happy Together?
"Microsoft" and "open source" have, for a long time, not been two words you would typically breathe in the same sentence. And now I find myself reading an IWeek piece in which one of Microsoft's open-source point men, Bill Hilf, speaks up on both subjects.
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Five Reasons Why I Think Oracle Will Buy Salesforce.com
Marc Benioff says Salesforce.com is on target to hit $1 billion in revenue next year, but I don't think it will happen. I predict that before Salesforce.com hits that run rate as an independent, publicly traded company, Oracle will buy it.
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Four Reasons Android Will Not Lead To Cheaper Mobile Phones
Everyone was talking about Google's new Android mobile phone platform at Mobile Internet World this week. One of the meme's following Android around is that the platform will lead to low-cost mobile phones packed with cool features. Sorry, folks, but Android will not make your mobile phone any cheaper.
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Does The GSMA's Endorsement Of LTE Mean WiMax Is Dead?
It's now official, the GSM Association has given its approval to 3GPP Long-Term Evolution (LTE) as the fourth-generation (4G) technology for GSM. Is this a sign that WiMax is toast?
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Is Microsoft Claiming Ownership Of Embedded Linux?
Microsoft has long claimed that Linux violates its patents, but has refused to be specific. A recent deal between the software company and a printer maker may offer a clue.
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Nokia Talks Widgets, Navteq, And Mobile 2.0
Earlier this week at Mobile Internet World, I sat down with Craig Cumberland, director, technology and applications marketing for software platforms, at Nokia. We talked about the role of widgets in the mobile Web and other topics, including Google's Android platform. Let's see what Nokia is doing with Mobile 2.0.
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AMD's Phenom Quad-Core Processors Available For Online Pre-Orders
The industry's most anxiously awaited quad-core processor has been curiously missing in action. Because it brings the scrappy chipmaker's hot new 10h architecture to the desktop, and because it's the scrappy chipmaker's first desktop quad, the chip was shaping up as something of an Intel killer when it was first discussed a few months ago.
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Former Microsoft CIO "Has No Plans" To Resume Role
Ron Markezich, VP of managed solutions at Microsoft, and a former CIO at the company, said he isn't involved in the search for a new CIO.
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Last CIO Standing, Joke #3
A CIO can, too, have a sense of humor. This joke's not about CIOs, but it's funny just the same.
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How Much E-Mail Is A Lot?
I spend countless hours reading, writing, deleting, and organizing e-mail. My day begins and ends with it, and I still haven't seen the bottom of my in-box in weeks.
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Can IT Vendors Meet The Challenges Of Mobile 2.0?
I just returned from my panel, "The New Mobile IT Paradigm: Can IT Vendors Adapt?", at Mobile Internet World. It seems traditional IT vendors are still struggling with business mobility. Can they even hope to compete once Web 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0 show on smartphones?
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Splashtop's Source Code Now Available
The source code for the Linux-based Splashtop system environment, a way to run applications on a PC without ever formally booting it (among many other things), has just been released to the public.
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Dell's Open-Source Gambits Go Server-Side
Many in the open-source community applauded when Dell, arguably the single most influential PC maker right now, began -- however tentatively -- to provide Ubuntu Linux as one of its preloaded desktop system offerings. Now it's going a few steps further to offer both Ubuntu Server and OpenSolaris as standard server items along with the other Linux server OSes it has traditionally offered.
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Will Context And Widgets Define Mobile 2.0?
I am at Mobile Internet World in Boston. Everything here is Mobile 2.0 (though few people at the show seem to like that term). The three big factors defining the sessions so far is context, openness, and mobile widgets. But there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding both of these emerging trends.
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Google's Latest Mobile App: Notebook
For lovers of notebook applications, it just became a little bit easier to share notes between your mobile device and your computer. Google's Notebook application is the most recent addition to the mobilized versions of Google services and every note you add from your mobile phone is automagically available from any browser without the need to sync.
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Some Data Protection Miscreants Never Learn
We know the gory details about TJX Cos. and its mind-boggling data breach. But a hard-hitting new report on the worst data offenders from Byte & Switch shows that in some cases these organizations still haven't cleaned up their security act. Following their own high-profile breaches, the goings-on at Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and Iron Mountain are shocking indeed.
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Is There Any Lead Paint In That Code?
Maybe outsourced IT work and offshore manufacturing are as different as apples and lead-painted oranges. But does the rash of tainted product news from China make you more edgy about the quality of IT work that's done outside the U.S.?
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CBS Fires Up Huge Wi-Fi Hotspot In Midtown Manhattan
The hotspot will range from Times Square all the way up to Central Park, and stretch between 6th and 8th Avenues. CBS is providing access to the network for free, as long as you don't mind watching a few ads here and there. Will this succeed where other muni-Wi-Fi efforts failed?
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Another CIO Departure
In an SEC filing, Orbitz, the online travel site, said its CIO is exiting the company. What's with the recent CIO shuffle?
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Penryn's Got The Power For Wall Street Computing
A fascinating nugget hidden amid Intel's announcement of its 45-nm Penryn processors is just who really needs these powerful chips. Sure, PC gamers want the hot Core 2 Extreme QX9650. And enterprises everywhere more or less buy into the "better performance per watt" sell of the server-side Xeon Penryns. But the folks for whom this stuff is like silicon heroin -- they can’t live without it and they gotta have it now -- are the IT elite who run the data centers for the various stock exchanges.
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Google's Android: Looking Good ... But What's The Cost?
In my earlier blog post about Google's Android, I wondered if one of the fruits of that labor would be a phone user interface that didn't leave those of us not buying a phone that starts with the lower-case letter "i" out in the cold. Then I saw the videos on the Android Developer Channel and had a hard time not jumping up and down with glee. I just hope I can afford the phones that may end up using it.
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Miro 1.0: For Those Who Want Not Just Free Video, But To Set Video Free
Open-source video application Miro released its 1.0 version yesterday for Windows, Mac and Linux, but its creators don't think of it as just another me-too media player. They want it to be something a little more ... well, revolutionary.
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How To Check The Health Of A Tech Startup
Doing business with a startup is a leap of faith, but knowing something about its financial wherewithal lowers the risk. Here's how health insurer Cigna vets promising new companies.
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Apple: More iPhone Features Coming
If you're disappointed by some of the features not found on the iPhone, time will cure your ills. According to comments made recently by an Apple spokesperson, the Cupertino firm plans to add more functionality over the coming months.
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Nokia Goes After Multimedia Fanatics With N82
Boasting many of the same specs as the company's popular N95, Nokia brought forth its latest multimedia computer: The N82 (queue heavenly beams of light and angelic chorus). Its feature set is endless, but at $662 will American buyers bite?
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The End Of Offshore Outsourcing? I'm Asking.
Is the allure of work done overseas fading? Or is it as viable as ever? I can't reconcile conflicting reports.
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Intel Pitches Performance Of Quad-Core 45-Nm Penryn
Intel has officially lifted the lid on its long-awaited 45-nm Penryn processors. The devices are significant not only because they push the envelope, but because they extend Moore's Law a bit longer through their use of the rare element Hafnium.
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Will Android Be Windows To Apple's iPhone?
Everyone is complaining that Google's Android looks an a lot like the iPhone. Well, what if that is Google's point? What if Google hopes to do to the iPhone what Microsoft did to Apple's first user experience breakthrough, the Mac?
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A Dashboard For Well-Meaning Companies
StakeWare sells software that lets companies track their performance in areas such as environmental protection and human rights. Your company may be doing well financially, but is it doing good?
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Is This Android Running On An iPod Touch?
Yesterday I predicted that someone would create a hack that would put Android on an iPhone. Well, this isn't quite a match, but it looks close enough. Is this Android running on an iPod Touch?
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My Own Linux Distro: The Beginning
Here's a project I've been thinking about for a good long time, and which I've finally decided to get under way in public: I'd like to try and build my own custom Linux distribution.
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Morgan Stanley IT Exec Departs
Morgan Stanley IT veteran Guy Chiarello has left the brokerage firm. Chiarello's departure comes in the wake of Morgan Stanley's failure to make e-mail records available when required by the courts and financial-industry regulators -- and the embarrassing exposure of internal e-mail that did not reflect well on Chiarello and colleagues.
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Android Puts The Screws To S60
I assume by now everyone has checked out the video demos of Google's Android platform. If not, you can watch them here. One thing I noticed about the slick user interface is that it marches right past S60's usability. What can S60 do to prevent Google from eroding its market share?
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Facebook, Feds, Close In On Online Privacy
On Oct. 23, Donald Kerr, who is second in command as the deputy director of national intelligence, gave a speech at the GEOINT Symposium, sponsored by the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation, that seemed calculated to inflame civil-liberties activists and privacy advocates. In it, Kerr basically said "Fuhgeddaboutit" when it comes to protecting your privacy online.
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Is Wal-Mart's gPC The Linux Version Of The Mac Mini?
Back when Everex's Linux-based "Green PC" hit stores courtesy of Wal-Mart, I wasn't all that excited about it -- I saw it as being an also-ran to a much more exciting product, the Asus Eee subnotebook (also Linux-based). That said, the gPC is apparently selling like mad -- and now I think I see why: it's the Linux version of the Mac Mini, sort of.
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Motorola's SideKick Slide Kicks Itself Where It Hurts
Motorola's entrance to T-Mobile's SideKick family of messaging devices is not producing the intended good vibes. Instead, users across the Web are reporting power outages and hard resets when the Slide's slide is slid.
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China Mobile In Talks With Apple To Offer The iPhone
While the word is still out on the success of the iPhone's debut in the U.K., Apple isn't wasting any time trying to turn the it phone of 2007 into a global hit. China Mobile is reportedly in talks to offer the iPhone. But will Apply play by China Mobile's rules?
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Microsoft MAR Takes A Half-Step
The first comments posted to last Friday's story about the Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher (MAR) licensing program were of the "Microsoft is screwing us again" variety. That doesn't seem to be the case, but there are other reasons why the idea of a new license for old hardware doesn't make much sense.
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Beyond YouTube
Want video for your Web site? Think outside the YouTube box.
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Social Networking With A Point
Is there a real point to social networking? It is a lot of fun, and it can be a useful way to establish contacts. But it's usually a black hole of time -- a lot of chat without a lot of substance. However, there's at least one new site that's trying to offer social networking with a social conscience.
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Why Is Gates Still Number One?
The tech rank-and-file rate Bill Gates as the most influential person in the history of IT. The question is -- why? And do CIOs see it differently?
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Is Android Google's Key To The Mobile Ad Market?
While Google didn't mention anything about ads during its Android press call last week, that hasn't stopped everyone from guessing if the search giant will use Android as its key to capturing the mobile ad market.
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New Mac Ads Ridicule Vista -- But Vista Complaints Are Yesterday's News
The I'm-a-Mac/I'm-a-PC ads have lost their entertainment value, but nobody's told Apple, which just introduced three new commercials in the threadbare series. Not only are the ads tired, they target issues are no longer relevant to the current PC market.
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The CIO Cycle
It's not a new model from Harley-Davidson. It's the reason why some CIOs are losing their jobs. And here's what you can do to get off that particular treadmill.
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T-Mobile Looks Ready To Go All The Way With Google
While Verizon Wireless and AT&T sit on the sidelines and watch Google's Android initiative, T-Mobile looks like its ready to go all the way with the search giant. But will Google drive T-Mobile to the bank or the graveyard?
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First Look At Android-Powered Mobile Apps
Along with the launch of the Android SDK, Google today showed off samples of what Android-powered mobile applications might look like. Not surprisingly, these apps look more than a little like the iPhone's.
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Did The iPhone Bomb In The U.K.?
According to the blog round-up, Apple's iPhone -- the it smartphone of the year in the U.S. -- bombed like the latest Hollywood movie on the other side of the Atlantic. Does this mean the iPhone has no future outside of the United States?
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Linux Developers Could Take A Cue From Windows Home Server
If Linux and open-source developers in general want a good idea of a project to take cues from, there's one from Microsoft that is worth a long, hard look. No, not Vista -- in fact, it's not a desktop product at all, strictly speaking. It's Windows Home Server.
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Two Or Three Android Handsets Coming From HTC In 2008
The Taiwanese mobile handset maker has been on fire lately. Not only has it released some innovative new Windows Mobile-based smartphones in recent months, it also is on track to deliver two or three Android-powered handsets next year.
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Outlandish Google Rumor Of The Day: Google To Buy Sprint
What good are Monday mornings without serving up some fantastical new rumor? Today's tasty dish? Google is looking to buy Sprint. Why would Google do such a thing? To get its hands on Sprint's WiMax spectrum and avoid the FCC 700 MHz auction altogether.
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Apple's Leopard Is Better 'Linux' Than Linux
Who knew that Apple's latest version of Mac OS X was knitted together from enough open-source software to give Linux a run for its money?
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Marc Andreessen: 'Chains, Shackles, Boiling Oil' At The Gates Of Corporate IT
IT departments have gotten more conservative about using new technology from startups, says Marc Andreessen, the founder of three startups himself. Andreessen advises emerging tech companies to steer clear of corporate IT. Let's hope they don't listen.
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When CIOs Crash And Burn
Stuart Scott's sudden, ignominious departure from Microsoft is just one way for CIOs to be shown the door. HR violations, lack of execution, poor judgment, failure to protect the company's vital information--a lot can go wrong, and when it does, there are consequences.
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Google's Schmidt: Company Will 'Definitely' Participate In Spectrum Auction
Google is having another amazing week. After all the hoopla that surrounded Open Social, Google dominated news again this week with its Android announcement. And just when you thought it was safe to turn on the weekend, Google's CEO Eric Schmidt said that the search company will bid on spectrum in the upcoming 700 MHz auction. Well, sort of.
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Will Clearwire Partner With Google For WiMax?
Analysts and tech insiders -- including my colleague Rob Preston -- are speculating that WiMax might not survive the end of the much-hyped marriage between startup Clearwire and U.S. cellular carrier Sprint. Now some bloggers speculate that Clearwire will go solo and partner with Google. Say what?
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Join Us For GridTalk Tuesday With Science Fiction Writer Charles Stross
Our guest for our next GridTalk is science-fiction writer Charles Stross, whose most recent novel Halting State, is set in the near future -- just 11 years from now, when virtual worlds, massively multiplayer games, advanced mobile computing, and augmented reality are a part of daily life.
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With iPhone Set For European Launch, British Unlockers Could Get An Apple Bricking
Ready for some iBricking in the U.K.? With apologies to the Sex Pistols--I realize I'm straining for an analogy here--that could be the tune soon after the Friday evening launch of the iPhone in England by mobile-service provider O2.
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Will Apple Nickel And Dime iPhone Users To Death?
You know, I'm so glad that sophisticated, cool-looking smartphones like the iPhone have replaced the clunkier, less communicative PDAs of yesteryear. Because now we can pay $50 a year to do some of the stuff that we used to be able to do for free.
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Has Someone Already Written A Google Android Mobile Application?
Forget the fact that there are no Android-powered mobile devices on the market -- and that it could be a year before we see any Android-based cell phones. It seems some eager developers have already written an application that runs on Android.
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Ballmer: Google's Android 'Just Some Words On Paper'
I gotta give a hand to Steve Ballmer. He always gives great copy. Like here at Web 2.0 where he colorfully described Microsoft's fight with Google over search. Or the big B.'s candid dismissal of Google's Android.
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Sprint's Divorce From Clearwire Can't Be Good For WiMax
Sprint Nextel says it remains “fully committed” to WiMax even though it has pulled the rug out from under the planned nationwide network that’s central to its WiMax strategy. Who’s in charge anyway?
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Cmdr Taco: At 10-Years Old, Slashdot Continues To Play A Role
It's been 10 years since Slashdot emerged from Rob Malda's personal Chips & Dip site. Also known by his Slashdot signature, Cmdr Taco, Malda was a student at Hope College on Lake Macatawa in Michigan, an institution of The Reformed Church In America, at the time. The setting sounds a little like the Prairie Home Companion's Lake WoeBeGone. The result was an enduring fixture of the open source community.
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Guide For Switching From Windows To Mac
Going through some Web pages from the beginning of the year, I came across this excellent Lifehacker guide for switching from Windows to the Mac. The guide focuses on the two biggest headaches for switchers: Different keyboard shortcuts, and different ways of launching and shutting down programs and documents.
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For Workday, Growth Hinges On Scalability
Supporting 10,000 employee records was a starting point for Workday, the HR-as-a-service company launched by PeopleSoft founder Dave Duffield. The startup's next challenge is to manage 50,000 employee records, then 100,000 and beyond. The vendor is using custom database software to get it there.
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Will Banking Fallout Pull Down The Business Mobility Market?
The subprime mortgage crisis is hitting the banking industry hard. As a result, banks are spending less on mobile technology. Cisco has already reported a drop in demand from banks and Wall Street expects similar news from BlackBerry-maker RIM. Could the banking fallout kill the mobile business market?
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If You Build It, They Will Hack It
It didn't take very long for the Apple hacking community to make short work of the iPod Touch and hack into it, mere hours after a new "locked-down" firmware was released for it. It makes you wonder why they bother -- but then again, that goes for most everything kept under a digital lock and key, doesn't it?
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Apple Drops 1.1.2 iPhone Firmware Update. Hackers Beat It Just Hours Later
The iPhone hacking community must have every line of code in the iPhone and iPod Touch memorized at this point. Mere hours after Apple made the 1.1.2 firmware update available, they were able to best the new lockdown and open the iPod Touch right back up to third-party apps.
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Sprint, Clearwire Fail To Forge WiMax Partnership, Nix Plans
Sprint and Clearwire cited several reasons for putting the kibosh on the two companies' planned WiMax network venture. Among them, last month's departure of Sprint CEO Gary Foresee and the overall complexities of wrangling out the details. Is this a deathblow for WiMax or just a temporary setback?
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Is The Title CIO Still Viable -- Or Something Else?
"CIO is somewhat of a legacy term," says Ken Harris, senior VP and CIO of Shaklee Corp. "But that doesn't mean that the value that the CIO brings goes away."
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Nobody Wants Tablet PCs
Maybe Apple is coming out with a tablet PC, but it seems unlikely. It's not a product that makes sense. Tablet computers have been available for Windows a couple of years now; they're not selling like gangbusters and there's no reason to assume that a Mac version will do better, no matter how much magic pixie dust Steve Jobs shovels onto the product.
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Report From India: Experienced IT Pros Earn $36,000
The days of work going offshore to Indian IT pros earning $15,000 a year? They're gone. Now salaries are at least double that, according to a seemingly reliable source.
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AT&T Bows New Music Service For The Low Price Of $29 Per Month
Pandora lets users search for customized music which is served up to them via a personalized radio station. It costs a whopping $9 per month to get it on your AT&T mobile phone. And because it uses data to stream music to your handset, AT&T recommends that users tack on a $20 unlimited wireless data plan. Who is going to pay $29 per month for a wireless music service? Not me.
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Apple Readying Leopard Update
Apple is distributing test versions of a bug-fix upgrade of its new Leopard Mac OS. 10.5.1 fixes bugs in the firewall, data lost problems, and bugs in Mail, Spotlight, iCal, and more, according to Engadget, which lists a couple of dozen bugs that the update fixes.
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H-1B Visa Changes Look Kaput This Year
Moves--or lack of movement--by Congress this week are good news and/or bad news depending on what side of the H-1B visa fence you're on. There seems to be something (and nothing) in it for everyone.
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Amazon And Red Hat Make Computing Stretchy ... Er, Elastic
I'd been curious about the Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud or "EC2" before, but I'm twice as curious now: Red Hat and Amazon have knocked heads to provide Red Hat Enterprise Linux as one of the standard offerings for EC2.
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Google To Help Drivers Avoid Eating Crow. Sort Of
For every guy who's ever gotten lost with a significant other in the car and refused to ask for directions for fear of looking stupid, salvation is at hand. Now you can get them on the sly at the gas pump. If you're driving to McDonald's, that is.
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Which Side Are You On -- Online?
Around NYC, it's become common to see a giant inflated rubber rat sitting on the sidewalk when a local union is sponsoring a strike. The Writers Guide of America, however, is a bit more sophisticated than that -- they're using YouTube.
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Android: Nightmare or Dream for Enterprise IT?
Google's Android announcement has set off a series of brushfires across the blogosphere, with commenters ranging from those who dismiss the open-source mobile platform as "lame," "vaporspeak" (our own Eric Zeman), and "nothing 'new' here," to those who believe that every other mobile platform including the iPhone has instantly become obsolete.
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Barry Diller, A Dollar, A Ten O'Clock Scholar
So media mogul Barry Diller is planning to split his IAC empire into five public companies, eh? But the conglomerate that includes Home Shopping Network, Ticketmaster, and search engine Ask.com is already successful as a collective. Why break up the band? What does Barry know that we don't?
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Business Intelligence Goes Mobile Thanks To Better Browsers
I've noticed a pattern of news announcements around mobile business intelligence tools that are just itching to get into the hands of smartphone users. Information Builders is the latest to release a BI tool this week that provides access to business data from any mobile device. And in case you were wondering, it can be used on the iPhone too.
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Qualcomm's Take On Android: We're Anxious To Watch It Unfold
Over The Air took a few moments to ask Qualcomm's Vicki Mealer, senior director of product management, QIS, a few questions about Google's Android mobile platform. On the whole, Qualcomm is positive about Android's potential.
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Open Handset Alliance: Google Gets Serious About Mobile
You really have to admire Andy Rubin, Director of Mobile Platforms at Google. He's worked at Apple then General Magic then WebTV and most recently founded Danger.
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What's In A Name: Does CIO Still Resonate?
Companies continue to see value in the title of CIO, at least to judge from a news announcement earlier this week.
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'Dilbert' Creator Scott Adams Comes To Second Life To Get Kicked In The 'Nads
"Dilbert" creator Scott Adams made the trek to Second Life recently, where he encouraged audience members to step up and kick him in a sensitive private place. "This is what you call being customer focused. I think Nordstrom could learn a thing or two from my example," Adams said on his blog.
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Is Recreating The Desktop Browsing Experience On A Mobile Phone Plausible?
Fellow InformationWeek blogger Alex Wolfe contends that slow wireless network speeds and shoddy browsers are to blame for the less-than-thrilling experience of browsing the Web from a smartphone. That got me thinking. Is recreating the desktop experience on a mobile phone the right way to tackle mobile browsing? Or does the whole issue need to be re-thought?
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Phoenix's Hyperspace: Linux-Based Instant-On For Laptops
Not long after I covered Splashtop, the instant-on Linux-based boot environment that runs from flash memory, it looks like other hardware makers are getting into the same game. Meet Phoenix's Linux-based HyperSpace.
Continue reading "Phoenix's Hyperspace: Linux-Based Instant-On For Laptops..."
Google's Android Frenzy Hides Mobile's Dirty Little Secret
There's one important point that's been lost amid all the chatter surrounding Google's non-announcement the other day of its vaporous GPhone, and its actual disclosure that it'll soon be releasing a phone-software development platform. It's this: mobile apps aren't the issue. It's the (slow) networks, stupid.
Continue reading "Google's Android Frenzy Hides Mobile's Dirty Little Secret..."
Radiohead Fans: Ears Open, Wallets Closed
So now we know what most of the devoted fans of Radiohead thought the art-rock band's new album was worth, given the option of choosing how much to pay for it: Nothing, as in zip, zero, zilch.
Continue reading "Radiohead Fans: Ears Open, Wallets Closed..."
The H-1B Visas That Could Save Lives
Regardless of whether you think the cap on H-1B visas should be raised or not, there are some very specific -- and scarce -- types of talent and brainpower that could help save lives but are possibly being shut out of coming into the United States.
Continue reading "The H-1B Visas That Could Save Lives ..."
Microsoft (Almost) Mum On CIO Departure
Stuart Scott was let go for "violation of company policies;" two executives tapped to assume his responsibilities in the interim.
Continue reading "Microsoft (Almost) Mum On CIO Departure..."
Nokia To Embrace Android After All?
Of the seamingly few companies not included in yesterday's Android invasion was the world's largest maker of cell phones, Nokia. Yesterday, the company said it didn't think the new open mobile platform from Google was a threat. Today it changed its tune a bit.
Continue reading "Nokia To Embrace Android After All?..."
What Does Google's Android Mean For IT?
Yesterday my colleague, Eric Zeman, chimed in with his thoughts about Google's Android announcement and what it will mean for enterprise IT. In a move to expand the discussion, I sat down earlier today with Maribel Lopez, Vice President and Principal Analyst, Forrester Research, to talk about the impact of Google's mobile initiative on the business mobility market.
Continue reading "What Does Google's Android Mean For IT?..."
Microsoft's CIO Out
Stuart Scott, Microsoft's most recent CIO, has been let go from the company, according to a report.
Continue reading "Microsoft's CIO Out..."
Mac Software Bug Can Lead To Massive Data Loss
The blog TomKarpik.com reports that you can experience "horrendous data loss" if you move data from one volume to another, and the destination volume disappears midway. Karpik says he first encountered it in Samba, but it also occurs no matter the type of destination -- local USB, Firewire, network, etc. -- and that the bug dates back all the way to Panther and affects Leopard.
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Report: Apple Developing Tablet PC
One of the perennial rumors of the Apple community is coming around again. This time, it's a CNET blog reporting that Apple is developing a tablet PC Really. Not kidding this time.
Continue reading "Report: Apple Developing Tablet PC..."
Sick And Tired Of Xenophobia In Offshore Outsourcing Discussion
It's inevitable. We post a story about offshore outsourcing, and the comments section quickly fills with several or more postings about those damn foreigners taking our jobs. My multi-story package on entering the second decade of offshore outsourcing has attracted quite a few.
Continue reading "Sick And Tired Of Xenophobia In Offshore Outsourcing Discussion..."
Has Muni Wi-Fi Gone With The Wind?
There are a number of "pie in the sky" dreams that have fallen by the wayside in the last few years. One of those is the idea of free, attainable municipal Wi-Fi.
Continue reading "Has Muni Wi-Fi Gone With The Wind?..."
Here's Hoping Google Can Fix The Phone UI Problem
Google's "vapor-phone" announcement (as some people have branded it) has me hoping they can do something about the mobile phone market that so far only Apple, of all people, has done anything about: Make the phones less of a clumsy eyesore.
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An Ode To IP v 6?
Interesting things happen when Internet engineers have too much time on their hands. Hear for yourself.
Continue reading "An Ode To IP v 6?..."
Entrenched Wireless Players Not Concerned About Google's Android
The big guys of the modern cellular industry were all quick to weigh in on Google's Android platform. The consensus? A mix between stifled yawns, indifference and a lack of real concern that Google threatens their modern mobile empires. Is that a safe attitude?
Continue reading "Entrenched Wireless Players Not Concerned About Google's Android..."
Google's Android: The Greatest Vaporware Smartphone Ever
Google's announcement of the new, "Android" smartphone platform had less substance than a fashion show at a nudist colony. It's a non-existent smartphone, codeless software, and an alliance of major mobile phone players that leaves out most of the major phone vendors.
Continue reading "Google's Android: The Greatest Vaporware Smartphone Ever..."
What Do Sprint And T-Mobile Plan To Do With Google Android?
Despite Sprint's and T-Mobile's names on all the news earlier today neither carrier has really said what they plan to do with Google's Android initiative.
Continue reading "What Do Sprint And T-Mobile Plan To Do With Google Android?..."
Join Us For GridTalk With Cisco Systems
Join us for GridTalk on Tuesday when our subject will be Cisco Systems' upcoming Virtual Career Fair, with guests Christian Renaud, the company's chief architect for networked virtual environments, and Randy Sisk, new markets and technologies scout for the company. Cisco is a pioneer in using Second Life and other virtual worlds for business, so we'll also spend some time discussing the broader issues of commercial activities in virtual worlds.
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What Does Google's Android Mean For The Open Source Community?
Google's Android announcement today may be the biggest news story ever for the mobile open source community. To add some perspective, I sat down with Fabrizio Capobianco, CEO of Funambol, a company working with mobile carriers and device manufacturers to offer an open source application server for mobile messaging.
Continue reading "What Does Google's Android Mean For The Open Source Community?..."
Security Training: Whose Responsibility Is It?
Who else other than the CIO? So why aren't CIOs doing more about it?
Continue reading "Security Training: Whose Responsibility Is It?..."
Five Reasons Palm Should Drop Its OS And Use Google Android
Let's face it: The Palm OS isn't exactly cutting edge. Alright, I'll be blunt: Palm's OS is the 8-track cartridge of smartphone software. I think Palm should face facts, drop its never-ending linux initiative and its ancient leisure suit of an OS, and embrace Google's Android.
Continue reading "Five Reasons Palm Should Drop Its OS And Use Google Android..."
Apple Releasing iPhone Update 1.1.2, Breaking Third-Party Apps -- Again
Apple plans on Friday to release version 1.1.2 of its iPhone software, timed to coincide with the European release of the phone, according to reports on Apple blogs. The new software adds support for foreign languages, and a leading European wireless broadband vendor. And -- oh yeah -- the new release breaks third-party apps on the iPhone. Again.
Continue reading "Apple Releasing iPhone Update 1.1.2, Breaking Third-Party Apps -- Again..."
Google's Android Platform Is Not For The Enterprise
The participants of today's conference call could not have been any clearer. Each of the speakers said "improve the consumer experience" multiple times in their little speeches. So what is this new mobile platform really for?
Continue reading "Google's Android Platform Is Not For The Enterprise..."
Will Google's Android Further Fragment The Mobile Market?
Google earlier today answered months of endless gossip and blog posts. While there is no gPhone -- at least not for now -- Google's new mobile linux platform, Android, could translate into millions of Google-powered phones in the marketplace in the next few years. But Google's new OS also promises to further balkanize an industry plagued by device and OS fragmentation.
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The Female CIO: A Rare Sighting
Is there a lack of women at the highest levels of technology leadership, some people wonder (myself included)? Not at New York Life there isn't.
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Google Guys Talk About Gphone's Android Development Platform
OK, so it’s not the Gphone most people were hoping for. But what Google announced Monday morning could potentially turn out to be more significant. It's Android, an open development platform for mobile devices. And we've got a video where the Google guys talk about it.
Continue reading "Google Guys Talk About Gphone's Android Development Platform..."
Go SaaS, Young Man
Venture capitalist Mike Fitzgerald says he's more inclined to invest in software startups that embrace the service model.
Continue reading "Go SaaS, Young Man..."
Windows Home Server Gets Serious
Back in May at Microsoft's Windows Hardware Engineering (WinHEC) Conference, Windows Home Server, a new product, still in beta, was one of the stars of the show. It's taken nearly six months for Home Server to get its act together and take it on the road. But today HP finally announces its MediaSmart Server, a Home Server appliance, and Home Server will soon appear at big-box retailers near you.
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iBricking Redux: iPhone Firmware Update 1.1.2 On The Way
In what is sure to ignite another outcry against Apple, the latest firmware update for the iPhone will -- you guessed it -- wipe out access to third-party applications and wireless networks other than AT&T's. Again.
Continue reading "iBricking Redux: iPhone Firmware Update 1.1.2 On The Way..."
What's Great And What Stinks In The New Apple Mail
While the young people nowadays are all about their "instant messaging," and "social networks," e-mail is still the switchboard through which most of my business communication flows. Apple Mail 3, the upgraded mail client included in Mac OS X Leopard, is a very good mail client and a significant improvement over previous versions. It has a few features I love, some I hate, and some that are frustrating because they're good but could be so much better.
Continue reading "What's Great And What Stinks In The New Apple Mail..."
Linux To Power Google GPhone?
One thing which hasn't been nailed down in all the reports about Google's expected mobile phone announcement is exactly what operating system will run the thing. Turns out, it could be Linux.
Continue reading "Linux To Power Google GPhone?..."
Microsoft Talks Models Without Mentioning The U-Word
Microsoft talked a lot about software modeling this week, but it never mentioned the U word, that is, Unified Modeling Language, also known as UML. That may be because Microsoft has always said UML is too complex. Or maybe it's because UML underlies its competitors' best modeling efforts.
Continue reading "Microsoft Talks Models Without Mentioning The U-Word..."
1-800-Flowers Goes Back To Its Mom And Pop Roots
You'd think that with the evolution of the Internet and more people going online to shop, retailers would become further removed from customers and less personal. I was surprised to find out that 1-800-Flowers.com is doing exactly the opposite. It's hoping that advancements in technology will help the company go back to its roots.
Continue reading "1-800-Flowers Goes Back To Its Mom And Pop Roots ..."
Fight! ACS' Boardroom Brawl
Even more so than in other vendor relationships, CIOs watch closely the health of their outsourcing providers, since they're so dependent on those companies' day-to-day strength. Customers can't be thrilled at the brawl going on at ACS over a failed private-equity buyout, which has led to five board members resigning.
Continue reading "Fight! ACS' Boardroom Brawl..."
Apple Bans Nuclear Plants From Running 'Leopard' OS
While researching a story about Apple letting users run Leopard in a virtualized environment, I came across some interesting language in the software's license agreement. Who knew you can't use Leopard to run a nuclear power plant, or a 747?
Continue reading "Apple Bans Nuclear Plants From Running 'Leopard' OS..."
Can Any OS Live Forever?
For any CIO who's ever been caught on the wrong side of technology obsolescence, it's worth reading Charles Babcock's ode to a 30-year-old operating system that's still kicking.
Continue reading "Can Any OS Live Forever?..."
Ad Blocking. You Know...For Kids.
With the commencement on Thursday of a Federal Trade Commission Town Hall meeting, "Ehavioral Advertising: Tracking, Targeting, and Technology," The Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (US PIRG), two public interest advocacy groups, again asked the FTC to investigate and regulate online marketing.
The two groups filed a 74-page supplemental statement that expands upon a complaint filed last year with the FTC about online marketing. Among their more eyebrow-raising claims: Behavioral ad targeting contributes to childhood obesity and it helped bring on the subprime mortgage crisis.
Continue reading "Ad Blocking. You Know...For Kids...."
Asus's Eee Has It All Over Wal-Mart's Linux PC
And so now two new PCs running Linux out of the box have hit the shelves this week: Asus's $399 Eee Flash-storage mini-notebook and Everex's $198 TC2502 gPC, courtesy of Wal-Mart. Yes, they both run Linux, but the similarities end there -- and my money's on the Eee being the real success story of the two.
Continue reading "Asus's Eee Has It All Over Wal-Mart's Linux PC..."
Nokia's Push Into Content Services Off To Shaky Start
Nokia was dealt a double blow today when two of its planned Internet Services products met with setbacks. The delay in launching its N-Gage gaming service isn't too severe, but the loss of Warner's catalog from the Nokia Music Store is more serious.
Continue reading "Nokia's Push Into Content Services Off To Shaky Start..."
Desktop Linux: Yea Or Nay?
The debate about whether the open-source operating system will ever become a major player on the client side is heating up again this week, in the wake of Nick Petreley's "pro" argument, Why Linux Will Succeed On The Desktop and my earlier piece, 7 Reasons Why Linux Won't Succeed On The Desktop.
Continue reading "Desktop Linux: Yea Or Nay?..."
Google's Mobile Plans To Be Revealed Monday
I guess Google couldn't wait two weeks to spill the beans. It appears that Google is prepared to make an announcement on Monday regarding its plans in the mobile space, and sources say Sprint, T-Mobile and a bunch of handset makers will be involved.
Continue reading "Google's Mobile Plans To Be Revealed Monday..."
A Few Cheers For OpenBSD
With all of the hollering about Linux, Ubuntu or otherwise, there's another open-source operating system that just celebrated getting a new 4.2 release out the door. It's one that hasn't been quite as widely-celebrated as Linux but is still deeply important in its own way: OpenBSD.
Continue reading "A Few Cheers For OpenBSD..."
Will Google's OpenSocial API Program Kill Ning?
Google this week stormed into the social networking world and stole Facebook's thunder with its new OpenSocial API program, an effort to create an open standard for creating and integrating applications into social networking platforms. While the rest of the blogosphere is pondering Facebook's fate, I want to ask another question: Does OpenSocial spell the death of Ning?
Continue reading "Will Google's OpenSocial API Program Kill Ning?..."
Google Mobile Guessing Game Continues
What does Google plan to announce? First, it seemed Google would announce a deal with Verizon Wireless, a rumor that prompted our colleague Richard Martin to wonder if Google wasn't about to sell out on its unofficial corporate motto. Now it looks like the Verizon deal is likely out, but that hasn't stopped the guessing game.
Continue reading "Google Mobile Guessing Game Continues..."
Craigslist Slaying Spotlights Need For Online Safety
The murder of a young woman answering a job ad on Craigslist is a sad reminder of potential danger when people connect online and subsequently meet up in the real world.
Continue reading "Craigslist Slaying Spotlights Need For Online Safety..."
The Three Opens, Pt. 2: Open-Source Applications
In the first post in this series, I talked about how open-source operating systems were one of a galaxy of three major and complementary forces. The second, and in some ways more important force, is open-source applications.
Continue reading "The Three Opens, Pt. 2: Open-Source Applications..."
Analyzing 10 Years Of Offshore Outsourcing
Can you believe it's been a whole decade since CIOs began offshore outsourcing? Small bits of development work went overseas before then, but the practice didn't really pick up until CIOs found themselves short-handed on Y2K code fixes. From that point on, it exploded.
Continue reading "Analyzing 10 Years Of Offshore Outsourcing..."
The Palm Centro Smartphone: Small But Satisfactory
I was wary of the claims made about Palm's new Centro smartphone. The iPhone aside, I've found few smartphones -- or, for that matter, plain mobile phones -- that have made me say, "Maybe I want that one." Those that I do like are usually so expensive that I can't imagine paying for one. But I'm sold.
Continue reading "The Palm Centro Smartphone: Small But Satisfactory..."
Wozniak: Apple Should Unlock The iPhone
Steve Jobs got a suggestion the other day from an old friend and business partner -- a guy named Steve Wozniak. Unlock the iPhone, Woz said: "I am really for the unlockers, the rebels trying to make it free. I'd really like it to be open to new applications."
Continue reading "Wozniak: Apple Should Unlock The iPhone..."
More Enterprises Adopting Wireless Broadband, But Wi-Fi Still Leads 3G And WiMax Plans
Wi-Fi is the wireless workhorse that has become the go-to solution for freeing enterprise workers from their desks. Fully 73% of all businesses in North America will adopt Wi-Fi by 2011, with only 17% connecting with 3G and 11% connecting with WiMax.
Continue reading "More Enterprises Adopting Wireless Broadband, But Wi-Fi Still Leads 3G And WiMax Plans..."
Playing Through: O'Neal Putted While Merrill Burned
Bringing new meaning to the term "stay the course," ousted Merrill Lynch CEO Stanley O'Neal apparently spent much of August and September, as his firm was headed into one of the worst crises in its history, on the golf course. We know this thanks to the power of the Internet and O'Neal's meticulous score-keeping.
Continue reading "Playing Through: O'Neal Putted While Merrill Burned..."
Google's Designs On Web Identity
Google's OpenSocial initiative, a set of APIs which let developers create widgets that will work on multiple social networks, looks like a reaction to Facebook's successes. But it might turn into another cog in the wheel of digital identity management.
Continue reading "Google's Designs On Web Identity..."
Source: No Google-Verizon Deal Imminent
While Google may be in what some have called "advanced talks" with carriers Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and T-Mobile, an insider stated that there is no deal about to be announced.
Continue reading "Source: No Google-Verizon Deal Imminent..."
One Laptop Per (Inner) Child
The Asus Eee goes on sale in the United States this morning. Finally. The Eee is the less-than-two-pound, Linux-based, instant-on, 7-inch-screen, no-hard-disk, $400 laptop that was announced last June. It's been slowly making its way to the States ever since, and I've been tracking its progress by reading reviews from overseas. Now, at last, it's here.
Continue reading "One Laptop Per (Inner) Child..."
GoMobo Brings Fandango-Like Advance Ordering To Your Morning Coffee Run
I've got an addition to my list of favorite mobile apps, to go alongside the GrandCentral phone service I told you about last month. It's GoMobo, a startup which brings you a way to order food via cell phone text messages.
Continue reading "GoMobo Brings Fandango-Like Advance Ordering To Your Morning Coffee Run..."
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